The advent of the automated teller machine (“ATM”) has made it possible for banking withdrawals to be made without interacting with a human bank teller. For example, a user may use an ATM to make withdrawals or deposits from a checking or savings account and to determine an account balance. Point-of-sale (“POS”) terminals and systems use a similar technology to directly debit a user's bank account enabling users to make purchases of goods (e.g., gasoline, groceries, consumer electronics, etc.) or services (e.g., car cleaning, yoga class, etc.).
To withdraw funds from an ATM, a user typically presents (e.g., scans, swipes, or inserts) an identification card that was issued by an associated financial service provider and enters a personal identification number (“PIN”) that is stored in a secure database. Upon successful entry of the PIN associated with the presented identification card, the ATM prompts the user to select an associated financial account and perform one or more preset tasks (e.g., withdrawing funds, checking an account balance, etc.).
While helpful in securely and efficiently withdrawing funds from an ATM or conducting a transaction at a POS terminal for most situations, the transaction authorization process described above has some limitations. For example, a user may be forced to enter or divulge his or her identifying PIN to a third party when the third party threatens or pressures the user to conduct a transaction on the third party's behalf.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved alert systems for identifying and responding to transactions being made under duress at a transaction terminal (e.g., ATM or POS terminal). Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to this and other considerations.